13th Stage – A fair bit of work!

KYOCERA Printer steals the show

18 November 2008 - We find ourselves in the middle of Africa on the way to the 13th peak of this year’s AIDS awareness campaign. In particular, the KYOCERA printer, that has been with us all the way is causing a bit of a sensation as some people here have never seen an image of themselves. Above all, the children are incredibly excited about seeing their first photos on paper.

Looking forward, the climbing of Sambia Mafinga was next in our plan. This is a huge challenge, mostly due to the problems with the heat. The night-climb takes nine hours, through back country covered with bushes, ferns and trees. We have to jump from stone to stone, crawl along narrow passages and creep through low shallow hollows. Onwards and upwards. As soon as you think that the worst is behind you, the ordeal begins once over. Two hours go by – where is the summit? We reach it – completely exhausted and dehydrated, at 6.15 am. A gigantic view over the rocky slopes of the Mulanje Mountains opens up. Was it worth it? Of course! More important, however: On the top of the 3001-metre-high Sapitwa Peak the banner with the national flag of Malawi and the estimated number of unknown HIV and AIDS cases in the land now waves: 1.4 million.